Friday, 25 April 2014

I haven’t blogged for a long time. It’s been too long. Now
is the time to break the silence and what a better way to do it than with
something worthwhile saying.

In support of Police Whistle Blowers

PC James Patrick is someone the public want, and need, as a
policeman. He is a man of honesty, integrity, and right.

So why have the MET put him under investigation, AGAIN, for speaking
out and up about the flawed system of crime reporting, preventing him from
leaving the force with his reputation intact? Channel 4 News suggest it’s
vindictive and designed to intimidate him. BBC news agree.

Whistleblowers are frequently subjected to witch-hunts and
driven from their careers. Those who whistle blow are often those who value
their jobs more than most. If it didn’t matter, why would they bother? Yet they
are victimised over and over again. It’s a typical story.

The Police need to be trusted by the public. When a police
whistleblower calls time on bad practice, flawed investigations, or some other
matter of concern, public confidence ultimately grows because people know there
are good and honest coppers out there willing to stand up and be counted when
it matters.

It’s easy to mingle with the crowd but it takes courage to
stand alone, to put your head above the water and remain there whilst under
attack. And who polices the Police when they
can’t police themselves?

There is a huge crowd of serving and retired police officers
supporting James Patrick. We endorse his actions and back his right to leave
the police service with his integrity intact.

Don’t let him become a victim of injustice. There are far
too many of those already.

This is James Patrick’s open letter to the Commissioner of
the Metropolitan Police